Brooklyn Paper has it that the smaller, funkier Tea Lounge in Park Slope, on Seventh Avenue and Tenth Street, is to close at the end of July. And you’ll never in a million years guess what the reason is! Turns out an obscene rent hike is forcing the neighborhood hang-out to move along and make room for, most likely, a Corcoran real estate office. Where have we heard this tune before? more ›

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Kuta Satay House & Wine Bar: Taking its name from the tourist beach town in Bali, Kuta Satay House (pictured) is bringing its modern Southeast Asia menu to the Lower East Side. The main attraction here are the skewers, such as short ribs with asian pears and sesame barbeque sauce. Entrees emphasize seafood and steak, but there’s also a spicy duck curry and side dishes like garlic fries. 65 Rivington St, (212) 777-5882. more ›

Bruni visits the recently reopened Provence (now owned and run by Cookshop & Five Points’ Marc Meyer and Vicki Freeman), awards the restaurant one star. He likes the minimal changes they’ve made to the design; the food, not so much: “Provence’s is inconsistent and dull,” he says. He does like the wine and the cheese selection though. more ›

READINGS: Russell Simmons has written a self-help book and will be at Border's today promoting it (okay, now all of this recent noise he's making makes more sense)! It's called "Do You! 12 Laws to Access the Power in You to Achieve Happiness and Success." None of the laws include any of these three words. more ›

Photograph of the Save Coney Island rally at City Hall by Matthew McDermott more ›

- Finally! Banh mi sandwiches in Midtown. But are they any good, and are they worth the $7.50 a pop? Midtown Lunch readers chime in with their thoughts. more ›

Inside Edition, better known for covering tabloid stories and entertainment, has found something that mixes the best of both worlds: Looking for rats in NYC restaurants. Perhaps the most famous restaurant goers these days are city rats, and Inside Edition was on them like paparazzi on Britney Spears:

INSIDE EDITION took to the streets of Manhattan between 1:00 AM and 4:00 AM peering their cameras and flashlights into the windows of a wide variety of eateries, from fast food places to fine dining establishments. INSIDE EDITION found many of the restaurants shared one common denominator, vermin.

The Villager is reporting that the Greenwich Village Society of Historic Preservation last week submitted a report calling for the creation of a South Village Historic District. Comprised of 38 blocks and about 800 buildings, it would be the city’s first tenement-based district. more ›

Several restaurants in the 34th Street area will be offering special menus with wine pairings for $20.07 for lunch and $34.00 for dinner. Check the 34th Street Partnership website for a full list of participants. more ›

THEATER: Pot-au-Noir (The Black Hole) is a retelling of the story of Cain & Abel "through the lens of the Great American Myth -- combining images of Hollywood Film Noir, the Gold Rush, the Dust Bowl, and Manifest Destiny with a story that is at the core of Judaism, Christianity and Islam and, therefore, America." Jake Hooker’s new production promises lyrical text, contemporary dance and live music to tell a story of lies, deceit, jealousy, lust, revenge and, finally, murder. - John Del Signore more ›

Unless you've been under a rock (or perhaps out of the country for the last week or so), you've probably seen all the hooplah about this fall's upcoming culinary offerings. New York Mag was first on the scene with their fall preview issue, followed closely by the New York Times (offering "sooner" and "later" openings), and Andrea Strong. Here are some of the spots we're the most excited to try: more ›

A reader wrote to us asking if we knew where one could find rijstafel in the city. Sure -- we love a challenge! But first, we actually had to find out what it was. Wikipedia was able to shed some light on the subject:

An Indonesian rice table (in Dutch, rijsttafel) consists of rice accompanied by several, often spicy side dishes served buffet-style. Popular side dishes include egg rolls, sambals, satay, fish, fruit, vegetables, pickles, and nuts. It is a Dutch colonial adaptation of the Indonesian makan besar, and popular in both Indonesia and the Netherlands.

There are few things in life at Mexican restaurants better than fresh guacamole prepared at your tableside, so when Gothamist spied a bowlful of avocados ready for smashin', we headed into Park Slope's inviting La Taqueria, a long, narrow joint smattered with paintings by local artist Jeramy Turner. Margaritas are a must-have, though nearly a dozen bottled beers appear on the menu including Tecate and Pacifico along with fresh fruit juices and the house sangria. Hot, crispy tortilla chips still dripping in oil arrived at the table for starters, accompanied by a mild, but smoky salsa. Soon afterwards, a cart quietly rolled up to the table where cilantro, lemon, and tomatoes were smashed into ripened avocados with a mortar and pestle and left to devour with another basket of chips. more ›

Liz Thorpe, Wholesale Manager of Murray’s Cheese, will give you the inside scoop on all things cheesy, including selection of the perfect cheese plate, how to display it, and picking the wines to match. 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., 254 Bleecker Street. $50/person. Call 212.243.3289, ext. 25 or register online. more ›

And the drinks are on them! We can't think of a better way to celebrate, really. Time Out New York and the IN:NYC Card will treat patrons to a complimentary cocktail during dinner service at nine select IN:NYC restaurants: Calle Ocho (212-873-5025; 446 Columbus Ave between 81st & 82nd Sts), 6-11pm; Django (212-871-6600; 480 Lexington Ave @ 46th St), 5:30-10:30pm; Kitchen 22 (212-228-4399; 36 E 22nd St between Broadway & Park Ave S), 5-10:30pm; Kitchen 82 (212-875-1619; 461 Columbus Ave @ 82nd St), 5-10:30pm; Ono (212-660-6766;18 Ninth Ave at Gansevoort St), 5-11pm; 66 (212- 925-0202; 241 Church St @ Leonard St), 5:30-11pm; SushiSamba 7 (212-691-7885; 87 Seventh Ave S between Grove & Barrow Sts), 5:30-11pm; Underbar (212-358-1560; 201 Park Ave S @ 17th St), 6-8pm; and Brasserio: Caviar & Banana (212-353-0500; 12 E 22nd St), 5-10pm. more ›

Between a trip out to Fire Island this weekend, and New York Metro's wrap-up of new fish shacks, Gothamist is ready for summer. While our all-time favorite is Pearl Oyster Bar, we're eager to try the newbies -- Black Pearl, in the East Village, and Bar Minnow in Park Slope. We've already had a sample of the fish shack at BLT Fish, and while we only got a tiny taste of the raw bar and a batch of fried oysters (pictured at left), we want to head back for another round soon. more ›

This weekend marks the last two days you have to find love before Valentine's Day. So get out there! Quick! You don't want to be alone on a fake holiday do you?! It's okay, we love you, and we'll show you this by giving you a list of things to do this weekend. But we'd never actually pressure you to do them, we're just not like that: more ›

I know it may be too much to ask this question of a New York blog, but are there any Red Sox-friendly bars in New York? I want to watch them play in the World Series with some like-minded Sox fans! more ›

Ever since the Summer Olympics in Athens, Gothamist has been obsessing over Greek food and wine options in the city. And while we've spent the past couple of months indulging the obsession through a quick gyro here or a lingering bougatza and frappe there, the time had come for Gothamist to pull out the big guns. It was time to go to Molyvos. more ›